Should I raise the rent?

I just want some opinions here please.

I have an apartment which I have been renting out for almost 3 years. The current tenant is there approx 18 months, she is a good tenant - I have only ever had one complaint from other tenants about a party and it was sorted quickly and has never been an issue since, so I'd like to keep in her there as long as possible.

The issue is her rent is quite low, at the time of renting it to her, I didn't want to be without a tenant so I lowered the rent by €100 PM for her.

It is a 3 bed, 1000 square foot apartment 300 yards from the Dart station in south dublin. It is in fantastic condition, not a buy to rent property. There is currently a 2 bedroom apartment in the same complex on Daft for €100 more that my tenant pays. 3 beds in the area are not only hard to come by, but at least another €100 again.

Approximately a year ago, my tenant's partner moved into the apartment with her so there is an extra income now there.

I feel I should put the rent up to market rates but would like opinions on this. I wouldn't move on it until a while after Christmas at this rate as she has a young son so I don't want to put extra pressure on her during that time.

So, arguments for and against would be great! thanks in advance.

djimi

The questions that you need to ask yourself are how long would you expect the property to be empty for should she decide to move in light of the rent increase, how much would you expect to get for the property in the open market, and is it worth an extra €100 a month to lose a good tenant and take the chance on a new tenant?

You are perfectly entitled to seek a rent increase if you so desire, and by the sounds of it one would probably be well justified. Its up to you how much you want to rock the boat (and how much you can afford not to); a lot of landlords are quite happy to take in a lower rent if it means keeping hold of a good tenant.

josip

If it's out of line with the market price then you should go ahead and put it up. People usually handle things better the more notice they have, so even if you intend not putting it up until after Christmas, you should tell your tenant now. You could spin it "The rent for the apartment has fallen behind the market rate and I've decided to increase it. However since you're a good tenant I'm not going to increase it for another 3 months"

miss no stars

There's huge demand in south Dublin, it's a big apartment and close to amenities. Raise the rent. Just give her plenty of notice, though. It's hard to find decent places in South Dublin for a fair rent.

SolitaireX

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

djimi

SolitaireX wrote: »

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

Renting is a business; the OP is entitled to seek a rent review is the rent being paid is too low, and there is nothing wrong with doing so.

miss no stars

SolitaireX wrote: »

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

Lets say someone took out a lease in year 0. The rent was 100 of the currency per month. They're still there in year 15. At no point between year 0 and 15 has the landlord been strapped for cash, but the going rent for a similar property is 500. The going rate has increased during the tenancy. Should the landlord only be allowed to increase the rent when the difference is huge, or should they be allowed to adjust by 100-200 as the market changes definitively? Do you seem to think that just because they moved in at a rate, they are entitled to remain indefinitely at that?

The property is being let to the tenant for at least 200 euro less than the market rent. That's 2400 a year that the OP is not getting. Feck this business of needing the extra cash - if there's a mortgage then 2400 extra a year off it would have plenty of impact. Otherwise that's potentially a holiday of a lifetime, or savings or whatever.

Either way, it belongs to the landlord. Who are you to say they shouldn't raise the rent to the market rate unless they absolutely must?

josip

SolitaireX wrote: »

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

That's a bit strong. It's business; OP is entitled to maximise the return on her asset.

SolitaireX

So in short, price fixing is ok as long as it's for property.

who the fug

SolitaireX wrote: »

So in short, price fixing is ok as long as it's for property.

What has price fixing got to do with getting a return on an asset

SolitaireX

SolitaireX wrote: »

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

:pac:

You ask for opinions both sides and it sounds like greed!

If I was the greedy type I wouldn't be posting here looking for opinions and I wouldn't be saying that I would leave my tenant to enjoy christmas in peace.

The rent is much lower than market rates - even at the time she began renting that was the case, and rents in the area have increased. I'm not even looking to higher the rent significantly, only by €100 a month, which would match less desirable 2 bed in the area.

As it happens, the mortgage repayments are much higher than even market rates so it is costing me money to have a tenant there but that's not what this thread is about.

Thanks for all the helpful replies, keep them coming

miss no stars

No, it's open market supply and demand. Current tenant might decide to move out if the rent is raised. Okay, but the OP can get someone else to move in at the higher rate. Supply is very low, demand is high, rents go up. That's not price fixing. Price fixing would be if all landlords in her area sat down and said "we all agree to charge our tenants x amount".

Lu Tze

I presume you also disagree with rent reductions in line with the market rates when they fall?

Directed at solitaire

D3PO

Sollitaire go troll elsewhere. Nobody could be that lacking in realism to come out with such tripe.

OP id agree with others you are more than justified to up the rent based on your posts. Perhaps if you believe its 200 below market rate only increase it 100 - 150 the price of a good tenant is well worth having the rent at a very competitive rate

D3PO

SolitaireX wrote: »

So in short, price fixing is ok as long as it's for property.

maybe you should go complain to the taxi regulator whilst your on your crusade. Shocking behavior altogether :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Faith

SolitaireX wrote: »

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

FFS, how can you call that greed? She's letting the apartment out at WELL below market rent - to the tune of €200 per month by the sounds of it. She is being extremely generous as a landlord as it is (and knowing the OP from around boards, I'd say she's an excellent landlord too). It's not greed in any way, shape or form and you'd really want to re-evaluate your thought processes if you're not just trolling. It's posts like that that make people not want to use this forum.

Whoopsa, I think you'll well entitled to raise the rent. There's now two incomes, I'm sure your tenant knows she's got an amazing deal and probably can't believe her luck. Fair enough if she was on her own, but no, you're absolutely entitled to raise the rent to market standards.

Give her ample notice alright, but you'll be drowning in prospective tenants if she leaves anyway. We had a bitch of a time finding a decent place in Cork city recently, so you'll definitely get new tenants very quickly given the apartment's location (and I'm sure it's in great condition).

ZeitgeistGlee

SolitaireX wrote: »

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

Nonsense, the OP is clearly renting for well below the market average for what her property is worth and has now even acknowledged it has been actually costing her money to keep the rent at its current rate.

By your logic we could equally call it greed on the part of her tenant that they do not offer more despite being almost certainly aware they are paying substantially less rent than they could/should be for the property and very likely having the capacity to with two incomes. :rolleyes:

OP you're obviously trying to be fair about this, which is very decent of you, I'd suggest talking to your tenant and outlining your current concerns with a view to providing them plenty of notice should they not wish to continue renting from you.

SolitaireX

Wow, it's only an opinion. Relax. However I will admit that the price fixing comment I made was reactionary. By the sounds of it the rent was set too low in the first place if it's not even paying the mortgage, either that or you got screwed over when you bought the house.

ZeitgeistGlee

SolitaireX wrote: »

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

SolitaireX wrote: »

So in short, price fixing is ok as long as it's for property.

SolitaireX wrote: »

Wow, it's only an opinion. Relax.

Had a bit of a change of heart? :rolleyes:

fluff_daddy

SolitaireX wrote: »

Sounds like pure and simple greed on your part. Are you struggling for cash, or is it just because other people seem to be getting more that you want the extra money?

Pure Greed? Its an investment not a charity

tinkerbell

I'd increase it OP. If a 2 bed in the area is going for €100 more then at least raise it by €100. I think it's very generous to also wait til 1st January to do so as then she'll have lots of notice. I'd even consider raising it by €150 since a similar 3 bed would be at least €200...

MarriedButBi

Raise it!

SolitaireX

So any other opinions on the OP or are people just going to rag on me for the rest of the thread? I gave my opinion, it was unpopular, it doesn't make it any less valid.

FoxT

Whoops,
Do you have a rental agreement with your tenant, and, if so, does it specify when rent reviews will be taking place?

(If you do not have a rental agreement, then that is something you should consider putting in place)

If not, I suggest you
- Let tenant know that your research indicates that rent is now below market rate.

- Tell her that you want to review it in Q1 next year (Lets say Feb 1), and invite her to do her own research as well. ie make it clear that you dont want to put the financial screws on her, but be clear that you will be losing out if things are let as they are for any longer.

- On Feb, renegotiate new rent with her, and also agree that you will review it annually (or at some agreed interval) in future.


-FoxT

SolitaireX

SolitaireX wrote: »

So any other opinions on the OP or are people just going to rag on me for the rest of the thread? I gave my opinion, it was unpopular, it doesn't make it any less valid.

Your opinion that I am being greedy is indeed, invalid

Faith

SolitaireX wrote: »

So any other opinions on the OP or are people just going to rag on me for the rest of the thread? I gave my opinion, it was unpopular, it doesn't make it any less valid.

It wasn't an opinion, it was an baseless attack. You haven't defended how it's greed, nor can you, so yes you can expect people to continue calling you out for a dickish post.

SolitaireX

Faith wrote: »

It wasn't an opinion, it was an baseless attack. You haven't defended how it's greed, nor can you, so yes you can expect people to continue calling you out for a dickish post.

Going back to the original post there was no mention of the mortgage not being covered, just that the OP wasn't getting as much as other people were looking for in the area. That taken on its own sounded like greed to me.

drumswan

SolitaireX wrote: »

Going back to the original post there was no mention of the mortgage not being covered, just that the OP wasn't getting as much as other people were looking for in the area. That taken on its own sounded like greed to me.

Whats the mortgage got to do with it. A landlord is running a business and will maximise their return on investment. Proper order.

SolitaireX

SolitaireX wrote: »

Going back to the original post there was no mention of the mortgage not being covered, just that the OP wasn't getting as much as other people were looking for in the area. That taken on its own sounded like greed to me.

My mortgage has nothing to do with what my tenant pays so it is entirely irrelevant.

djimi

SolitaireX wrote: »

Going back to the original post there was no mention of the mortgage not being covered, just that the OP wasn't getting as much as other people were looking for in the area. That taken on its own sounded like greed to me.

Its a business, end of story. And like every business the aim is to make as much money as possible. Call that greed if you like, but such is the society that we live in. Do you walk into your local Tescos and start having a pop at the manager because they are looking to maximize profits?

SolitaireX

I seem to be the only person opposed to raising someones rent because everyone else is so I'll leave it at that, no point arguing a point if nobody is prepared to even entertain it. Enjoy the weekend.